Inhibitory Effect of Bridged Nucleosides on Thermus aquaticus DNA Polymerase and Insight into the Binding Interactions

Modified nucleosides have the potential to inhibit DNA polymerases for the treatment of viral infections and cancer. With the hope of developing potent drug candidates by the modification of the 2’,4’-position of the ribose with the inclusion of a bridge, efforts were focused on the inhibition of Taq DNA polymerase using quantitative real time PCR, and the results revealed the significant inhibitory effects of 2’,4’-bridged thymidine nucleoside on the polymerase. Study on the mode of inhibition revealed the competitive mechanism with which the 2’,4’-bridged thymidine operates. With a K(i) value of 9.7 ± 1.1 μM, the 2’,4’-bridged thymidine proved to be a very promising inhibitor. Additionally, docking analysis showed that all the nucleosides including 2’,4’-bridged thymidine were able to dock in the active site, indicating that the substrate analogs reflect a structural complementarity to the enzyme active site. The analysis also provided evidence that Asp610 was a key binding site for 2’,4’-bridged thymidine. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to further understand the conformational variations of the binding. The root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) values for the peptide backbone of the enzyme and the nitrogenous base of the inhibitor stabilized within 0.8 and 0.2 ns, respectively. Furthermore, the MD analysis indicates substantial conformational change in the ligand (inhibitor) as the nitrogenous base rotated anticlockwise with respect to the sugar moiety, complemented by the formation of several new hydrogen bonds where Arg587 served as a pivot axis for binding formation. In conclusion, the active site inhibition of Taq DNA polymerase by 2’,4’-bridged thymidine suggests the potential of bridged nucleosides as drug candidates.